County Extension

Whether you are establishing a new lawn or renovating an existing one, deciding when to apply fertilizers and fungicides so they are most effective can be a tough call. No one type of grass is best suited for all situations. Your decision should be based on region, climate, intended use and desired appearance.

Tom Woods
Master Gardener
University scientists and forestry experts are using rhododendron leaves as bait to detect the presence of a disease that can kill Georgia’s historic oak trees. The disease, sudden oak death, isn’t as quick as the name implies, making it a hard disease to track.
And despite several years of work, researchers at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Forestry Commission haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet.

Ever walk by an abandoned home where someone once lived and gardened and notice a blanket of spring-flowering daffodils?
While the rest of the woods are bare, hundreds of daffodil blossoms form a cheerful carpet of bulbs, perhaps where a garden once stood. Bulbs have and will stand the test of time. Their vigor and self-reliance inspire me to arrange and plant bulbs in my own garden.

Rainwater harvesting is the idea of capturing stormwater runoff, often from rooftops, and storing the water for later use. When we have heavy rains such as with Hurricane Irene, most of that water is diverted into stormwater drains or ditches and is carried away before it penetrates the ground. Rain barrels or more complex cisterns can be installed to capture runoff and provide water for plants during drier periods. Increasing development along with the drought has increased the demand on municipal water supplies.

Tom Woods
Master Gardener
Thanks to Charlotte Glen, horticulture agent, Pender County Cooperative Extension
The most lethal pest of lawn grasses in our area is also one of the least well known. Called ground pearl or pearl bugs, these insects can be found damaging lawns throughout southeastern North Carolina. In yards infested with ground pearl, it is often impossible to maintain a healthy lawn since there are no effective treatments for this pest.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse
Family and Consumer Science Staff N.C. Cooperative Extension, Brunswick County Center
I like quizzes. I think most people do. I’m not talking about the “pop quizzes” given by Jr. High teachers when you weren’t prepared, but self-evaluation quizzes that can be used to help you decide how you score on a specific topic.

The southern pine beetle is consistently the most serious pest in the South. It attacks all species of pine native to North Carolina and prefers trees that are damaged or under stress. Trees damaged by lightning, hail, wind, construction or harvesting equipment, heavy pruning or other stresses cause them to omit odors that attract beetles.

Plant selection and bed preparation enables rain gardens to tolerate periods when the soil is saturated as well as periods of dryness. A rain garden differs from other gardens in the amount of time it can remain flooded and still thrive.